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While Zynga has finally launched its own platform for social gaming, ^[1] we do not expect its reliance on Facebook to decrease significantly anytime soon.

Facebook remains the website where users spend a majority of their time online, and that is precisely why social games get the necessary engagement they require.

Zynga would now be faced with the additional challenge of building a comparable scale for its own gaming platform, which is a tough feat to achieve.

See our complete analysis for Facebook

Facebook Does Not Need To Worry For Now

The very foundation of social gaming is that the “play-as-you-go” nature of the games, as opposed to traditional games that require dedicated time to play. By this logic, users are more likely to play these games as part of a broader social network as opposed to a dedicated social gaming site.

Additionally, a social network like Facebook is necessary to bring in new potential players to Zynga by leveraging its +800 million user base. In short, Zynga’s own gaming platform would face challenges of both scale and user engagement when compared to Facebook.

Having said that, Facebook’s own reliance on Zynga for its revenues is substantial. 12% of Facebook’s 2011 revenues came from Zynga, generated from both Facebook credits as well the ads that appear on Zynga’s games. ^[2]

Facebook is very well aware of this contribution, and will be watching closely whether Zynga’s zCloud infrastructure manages to eat up Facebook’s revenue share in Zynga. However, Facebook’s deal with Zynga mandates that it earns 30% of every virtual good transaction till May 2015, and this should continue to bring in healthy revenues for the company.

The updated Trefis valuation for Facebook stands at roughly $74 billion based on the revisions to our forecasts for Facebook’s metrics, including revenues, EBITDA margins, capital expenditures and net working capital.

Understand How a Company’s Products Impact its Stock Price at Trefis

Notes:

1. Zynga Unveils new Platform For Play, Zynga Press Releases, 1st March 2012 [↩]
2. Facebook’s S-1 Registration Statement, Securities and Exchange Commission, 1st Feb 2012 [↩]

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Nowadays, it’s no big deal to hear about a couple breaking up, or someone quitting their job via Facebook or Twitter.  Such impersonal communications would be considered outrageous just a few years ago.  While I don’t expect grandma and grandpa to post that you’re no longer in their will, or that they’re divvying up their entire fortune among a bunch of charities, it’s possible that you just might lose your inheritance thanks to social media.

Like the ever-widening wealth gap in this country, a similar rift is developing within social media. Younger generations are becoming more and more disconnected from the norms and traditions of prior generations and, as a result, may be jeopardizing their future legacy.

As a kid, I grew up in a Detroit neighborhood where there was a real sense of community.  If I was causing trouble a few blocks from home, I’d get yelled at by someone who lived there and, by the time I got home, my parents had been called and my old man was waiting at the door with a belt in his hand.  We had block parties, church picnics and regular family get-togethers, which created personal and tangible connections with relatives, friends, and neighbors.  Fast-forward to today and we’re surprised when a Facebook friend or LinkedIn connection suggests getting together after 10 or 20 years.

The Other Perspective

Degrees of separation always happen between generations.  In my lifetime, TV, video games and email all competed for family time and group dynamics; and the social media may prove to be the most insidious.  In fact, during a recent meeting the subject of Facebook came up with a client 10 years removed from work.   She sneered, “That Facebook stuff is so stupid.”  So I asked, “How so?” as I tweeted her comment over my phone (I’m kidding; I never tweet in a client meeting).

As part of her response, she concisely laid it out for both me and her heirs, “If my kids or grand kids can’t pick up the phone or stop by, I’ll know where I rank and where to rank them as well.”  Normally when we’re talking about rank, it’s about where your web page falls on Google search, but this ranking offers social media obsessed people of all ages the opportunity to guard against the lose of their inheritance.

It’s not just grandma and grandpa struggling with social media either.  While many baby boomers – including mom and dad or aunt and uncle – use some form of this new medium, they can quickly become disgusted when traditions move online.  Party invitations, especially those to significant life events such as weddings, can have a profound impact on your pocketbook.  A family friend recently shared the fact that they gave a smaller wedding gift because of the way they were invited to the event.  They don’t check Facebook as often as they do their mailbox and so ended up with a short notice and feeling a little jaded. It’s not unlike the way bad food can negatively impact a waitperson’s tip.   If food is improperly prepared, or an invitation ignores traditional etiquette, there’s a risk you could lose out.

Despite those concerns, a Pew study found that social media users 50 and older are the fastest-growing demographic of internet users.  In fact, their social media usage nearly doubled from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010.  More surprising, the figures were even higher for the oldest users: For those over the age of 65 social media usage grew 100%, from 13% in 2009 to 26% in May 2010.  While the statistics alone appear positive, older people aren’t using Facebook or Linkedin to find new friends because they do that in the real world.  They’re using it because they have to.  One forum I visited cited “it’s the only thing my daughter-in-law uses to send photos any more. If I want to see photos of my grand-daughter then Facebook is my only choice.”  Other comments include concerns about privacy and security.

Quite frankly, the major rift taking place between generations is a matter of trust and tangible relationships.  In the good old days, trust was earned over time eventually making someone’s word, a handshake, or family history all that was needed to make a deal.  That’s not going to be easily replaced with a two-factor authentication login or because 500 friends like your posts or someone recommends you on Linkedin.  Simply put, setting up a social media account or weekly Skype with your parents or grandparents will not automatically cement you in their good graces or estate planning documents.  Therefore, instead of trying to bring them up-to-date in this world and risk losing your inheritance, turn back the clock and try these inheritance saving ideas.

• Pick up the phone and call grandma, grandpa, mom or dad.  Be sure to tell them how terrible and impersonal Facebook is, how your competing heirs rely on it too much, don’t care enough about real relationships, and no longer have a sense of community.

• Send pictures, cards and invitations via snail mail.  Load up on forever stamps and be sure to include a handwritten note.  Painful and difficult as it may be to compose an old-fashioned letter, consider it time well spent in compensation for what it cost them to send you to school.

• Organize a family event and offer to drive them to it.  Ask them to grab their calendar off the wall for a couple dates on which the family can get together for a barbeque or other fun event.  Be sure to imply that it’s likely this is the only way they’ll get to see their other heirs … and could be the perfect occasion for sizing them up and lamenting how much time they spend texting and Facebooking instead of visiting with them.

• Finally, and in all seriousness, turn off your phone or put it out of reach when you’re around them.  They’ve likely given so much to you; it’s not asking a lot to give them some of your undivided time and attention.

Esthr

See Also

No One Has Built This Billion-Dollar Startup Yet

Facebook Updates Its IPO Filing To Confirm Its Special Relationship With Zynga

Spark Capital Brings On Former Zynga Executive As A Venture Partner

There are people out there who spend thousands of dollars on Zynga’s Facebook games like FarmVille and CityVille.

We’ve read reports about these people before, and have heard that they are called “whales” internally.

What we didn’t know is how Zynga treats people: like high-rollers at a casino.

According to two insiders, Zynga has special representatives to cater to those “whales.” 

These Zynga reps will send “whales” gifts and special letters. 

This treatment goes straight to the top: CEO Mark Pincus will answer emails from whales.

Zynga, according to one source, “treats its best customers with the best care.”

“Whales” are critical to Zynga because only around 2.4 percent of Zynga’s 200-million-plus players actually pay for virtual goods.

How Whales Are Born

According to sources, Zynga has a process through which it identifies, and then encourages the kinds of people who might spend thousands on a Facebook game.

First, Zynga create “rivalries” within games like Mafia Wars to fish out paying players by continuously pitting two players against each other.

Eventually, one of these rivals will get fed up with being behind, and start shelling out cash. Some players spend huge sums of money to get ahead of their rivals. 

This method is so effective that even a game that is otherwise a flop by Zynga standards will, eventually, attract some whales. Vampire Wars had whales that would spend more than $10,000 on virtual goods in the games, one source close to Zynga said.

Common practice

Another industry source tells us this treatment of heavy-spenders is common in the social gaming companies in the industry. That could include the likes of Kabam, Kixeye, Playfish or Playdom, for example.

The high-roller treatment is especially prevalent in the gambling industry. Casinos, for example, take care of their biggest spenders by paying for their dinners and hotel rooms.

Airlines give out seat upgrades to frequent fliers.

When briefed on the story, Zynga declined to comment, saying it does not comment on rumors or speculation.

Are you a huge fan of Zynga’s games and get special treatment from the company? We want to hear your story, and we’ll keep it totally anonymous. Shoot us a message at mlynley@businessinsider.com.

Zynga will launch its own social gaming platform and open it up to third-party game developers, the company announced on Thursday.

The maker of “Mafia Wars” and “FarmVille” will soon have its own website where people can sign up and play games with their friends. Today its games are played primarily on Facebook, Yahoo and a few other websites, as well as on smartphones.

In a big change for the company, Zynga will also allow third parties to develop games that run on its platform. Initial partners include MobScience, Row Sham Bow and the Canadian company Sava Transmedia.

Zynga isn’t leaving Facebook; it said its gaming platform will be “fully integrated with Facebook,” allowing people to start a game on its website and pick up where they left off on Facebook, for instance.

But the move will give Zynga a bit more independence from Facebook, the network where its games first rose to prominence.

And unlike players on Facebook, players on the forthcoming Zynga website will be able to chat with friends and make game-related requests without leaving their game screens.

Zynga first disclosed plans for the website last October under the code name Project Z. It will be hosted at a revamped version of zynga.com.

“What we’re really excited about is the long journey to truly building the best destination for play on the Internet,” said lead product manager Reed Shaffner in a video Zynga released.

Zynga’s first earnings call as a public company in February suggested how dependent it is on Facebook. Its annual revenue accounting was affected by its mandatory move to Facebook credits midyear, for instance.

Zynga also does much for Facebook. In January, Facebook’s initial filing for a public offering showed that the social network relies on Zynga for 12 percent of its revenue.

Cameron Scott covers search, web services and privacy for The IDG News Service. Follow Cameron on Twitter at CScott_IDG.

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Hardcore gamers like to point and laugh at Facebook games, but sometimes they’re all we’ve got. Commenter Faux Bravo wants to know if there are any Facebook games worth his valuable supposed-to-be-working time.

I know this is blasphemy, but are there any Facebook games out there that are worthwhile? Do you guys play anything that you really enjoy? I’m looking for something that has a little more gameplay involved than, say, Mafia Wars or other boring games where you click “Do Quest,” you lose some stamina, and then the quest is complete. I want more interaction.

I started playing Marvel: Avengers Alliance and I’m kind of digging it so far. It’s sort of typical Facebook-game fair, but there are turn-based battles involved. It’s like a console RPG but without the exploration. Not bad.

My reason for asking is because if I’m going to screw around on the internet when I should be doing homework, I’d like to be gaming. “Why don’t you just play a game?” You ask. Well, a game removes me completely from the work I should be doing. Games need to be started up and are often times a pain to minimize. A Facebook game can be running in the background. It can be left alone after a few minutes while I return to my studying.

Hardline Chat and Next Door Studios present a live voice, video and text chat with Next Door Exclusive Adult Stars March 6 from 8-10PM PST via the Hardline Chat app

Toronto, Canada (PRWEB) March 05, 2012

Gay men everywhere will finally get their chance to get hot and steamy with their favorite adult stars this month and all they need is their smartphone. Gay entertainment powerhouses, Hardline Chat and Next Door Studios are holding an exclusive live chat which can be accessed only through the free Hardline Chat app.

Next Door adult stars Cody Cummings, Austin Wilde, Marcus Mojo, Rod Daily and Samuel O’Toole will be online and ready to share pics and chat using the app’s voice, video and text features. The event is taking place March 6, 2012 from 8-10PM PST. Users need to download the free Hardline Chat app on their iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android smartphone to participate.

The mobile app event is part of a larger partnership between Hardline and Next Door Studios that also includes a North American tour to local gay events and bars as well as live chats on Hardline Chatline with Next Door Exclusive Porn Stars.

“Working with Next Door Studios and their guys to extend the live chats onto our mobile application takes the user experience to another level” says Anthony Lund, Brand Manager of Hardline Chat. “Giving users the opportunity to connect and exchange personalized video and audio messages with the stars themselves is experiential marketing to the max and offers our customers a lasting and memorable brand experience”.

“Our ongoing partnership with Hardline Chat is a great way for our exclusive Next Door Studios models to interact with their fans in a unique way. We look forward to continuing to work closely in the future to expand the exposure of our guys to even bigger audiences” says Stephan Sirard, President of Next Door Entertainment.

Hardline Chat is a leading gay chat app with over 20,000 new guys joined in the last month alone. It is the first gay social networking app to offer voice as a way to connect with guys along with video, text and picture features. Gay, bi and curious guys can find hot men in their area using the app’s location-based services, making it easy to find guys interested in dating, socializing, friendship and more.

Hardline Chat recently launched a version of the app for Android users after much demand from the community and has seen impressive download numbers since its availability. The Android app just recently received a 4.0 rating from popular app review site Android Tapp.

To download the free Hardline Chat app, visit the Apple App Store, Android Market, Amazon AppStore for Android or go to HardlineMobile.com. For more information about Hardline Chat and the Next Door Live event visit HardlineChat.com.

About First Media

Established more than 25 years ago, First Media Group Inc. is one of North America and the UK’s premier providers of voice chat dating services under brands such as Lavalife Quest Personals™ covering 300-plus markets.

About Next Door Studios

Next Door Studios was created in April 2002, with the vision of creating an amateur reality studio with a professional atmosphere and staff. With 12 online properties, Next Door Studios has two locations in Northern California and Montreal, Canada.

SOURCE First Media Group Inc.

For further information contact:

Anthony Lund, +1-416-503-6826, alund(at)fmginc(dot)com

Tom Emrich, +1-647-746-2630, tom(at)app-promo(dot)com

Tom Emrich
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This is the kind of story that makes you proud to be an American. A pair of thieves got more than they bargained for when they snatched a cash box full of about $200 in Girl Scout cookie money in a Texas Wal Mart parking lot on Saturday. Scout Iravia Cotton punched one of the thieves in the face through the passenger window of the getaway car, while fellow scout Rachel Johnson jumped on the getaway car, and was dragged as the thieves sped off (she was treated on the scene for minor injuries).

From The Houston Chronicle:

Around 1:52 p.m., a dark-colored, late-model Toyota Camry pulled up next to the Scouts selling cookies outside the Walmart at Grand Parkway and Bellaire. A passenger got out of the car, stole the cash box and got back into the vehicle, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Bob Haenel said.

Two Scouts chased after the crooks, KTRK-Channel 13 and KHOU-Channel 11 report. The Camry hit one of the 15-year-olds, knocking her onto the pavement, Haenel said. She suffered minor cuts and bruised her knees. Paramedics treated her at the scene.

Iravia Cotton told KHOU, “Me and my friend, (Rachel Johnson), went after the money and then they tried to hit me with the car. I started hitting the boy that was in the passenger seat, so I think he learned his lesson a little bit, and then they dragged my friend Rachel across the street driving off real fast.”

One of the best parts of this story was Rachel Johnson’s reaction. “I hope your face hurts from when Iravia punched you…jerk,” she told the thief, via KHOU’s news camera. “I’m serious. No, one of our girls ran up, Bam! Yeah. So I hope your face hurts. I hope it leaves a scar.”

As awesome as this story and these girls are, I would be remiss if I didn’t urge every girl, boy, man, and woman not to jump onto a moving car in pursuit of criminals. As I’m sure their parents told these girls, money (and even delicious Girl Scout Cookies) can be replaced. Having said that, these girls definitely earned their merit badges in Badass. If there weren’t already enough reasons to love the Girl Scouts, here is one more.

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, on this morning’s Starting Point, noted that Girl Scout policy says these girls are responsible for the money stolen, but vowed to pitch in, saying “We’re going to buy $200 worth of girl scout cookies this morning.”

Here’s the clip, from CNN:

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• When Girl Scouts attack. 

QUINCY, IL (WGEM) — Girl Scout Cookies Are Here! Semi-trucks filled with delicious Girl Scout cookies are pulling into towns across central Illinois, delivering the mouth-watering treats to local Girl Scouts. Soon, the Girl Scout you ordered cookies from this year will be knocking on your door with your boxes.

Cookie delivery stations are being set up and order delivery will begin soon.

This year Girl Scouts of Central Illinois once again offered Operation Cookie Share in partnership with the Adopt-A-Soldier program through State Farm’s Military Affinity Group. This program allows customers to not only support their local Girl Scouts, but also show their support for our military. Through the initial cookie sale Girl Scouts of Central Illinois is proud to announce that a total of 4,000 cases so far will be shipped to military troops. This equals 48,000 boxes of cookies.

There’s still time to support Operation Cookie Share or to place your cookie order. Cookie Booths will be held throughout our community beginning March 9 through April 5. To search for the cookie sale locations nearest you, visit our website at www.girlscouts-gsci.org http://www.girlscouts-gsci.org or call your local Girl Scout service center at 217-222-1030.

CHICAGO, March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Since creating the Quaker Oat Cake recipe more than 100 years ago, Quaker Oats have long been a key ingredient of oatmeal cookies baked in kitchens across the country. Inspired by the goodness of whole grain oats for more than 130 years, The Quaker Oats Company, a division of PepsiCo, is introducing a new line of packaged Quaker Oatmeal Cookies that feature whole grain oats as a staple ingredient. With real pieces of dried fruit and crunchy nuts, new Quaker Oatmeal Cookies are available in two varieties and seven flavorful creations, to satisfy every cookie craving.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120305/CG63661-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120305/CG63661-b)

“Creating this line of cookies has been a long time coming for us at Quaker and is a great addition to our portfolio that’s already full of delicious foods made with whole grain oats,” said Alberto Fernandez, Vice President of Quaker Foods Snacks North America. “We’re excited about these cookies because they combine the goodness of whole grains with real fruits like dried cranberry and banana, sweet chunks of chocolate and hearty nuts. We’ve worked long and hard to ensure there is really something for everyone.”

Quaker Oatmeal Cookies come in Soft Baked and Crunchy Oat Granola varieties at a suggested retail price of $2.69 per package. With individually wrapped packets in each box, these cookies are great at home or on-the-go.

About Quaker’s Cookie Varieties
Quaker’s Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies are palm-sized and individually wrapped, with six cookies per box. Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies come in five flavors: Apple Cinnamon, Banana Nut, Chocolate Almond, Cranberry Yogurt and Raisins.

Quaker Crunchy Oat Granola Cookies are crispy in texture, with each box featuring seven individually wrapped packages of four cookies. Crunchy Oat Granola flavors include Apple Cinnamon, Mixed Berry, Mixed Nuts and Raisins.

Whether soft baked or crunchy, both varieties of Quaker’s Oatmeal Cookies contain the whole grain goodness of Quaker Oats in a sweet snack for every taste and time of day.

Quaker Soft Baked and Crunchy Oat Granola Cookies are available nationwide in Kroger and select WalMart stores and will be available in most grocery stores by March 2012.

About The Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company, headquartered in Chicago, is a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., one of the world’s largest consumer packaged goods companies. For more than 130 years, Quaker’s brands have served as symbols of quality, great taste and nutrition. Holding No. 1 positions in their respective categories, Quaker Oats, Quaker Rice Cakes and Quaker Chewy Granola Bars are consumer favorites. For more information, please visit www.QuakerOats.com. Follow Quaker Oats on Facebook and Twitter.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo’s people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo’s promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

Follow PepsiCo:

• Twitter (@PepsiCo)
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Virtual Person™(VP) has released the Chat Banner, a virtual chat to be used in banner advertising platforms. The Chat Banner utilizes banner ad space to promote brands through direct customer engagement. Companies can now engage in direct sales conversations and generate leads through their advertising platforms.

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 05, 2012

High-Tech Company, Virtual Person™, known for their advanced AI virtual chat solutions for sales, support and lead generation services have ventured into the world of online advertising and marketing with their newly released, fully automated, Chat Banner.

Banner advertising has become a mainstay of online advertising, but consumers are becoming more immune to the banner ads they see every day. In response advertisers and networks are constantly trying to develop new banners, using flash images and sound, to draw the attention of site visitors.

Instead of flash images and sound, Virtual Person’s new Chat Banner utilizes ad space for an interactive two-way advertising platform. The Chat Banner invites visitors to chat and engage in conversation with a “virtual sales representative.”

According to Tomer Sasson, Founder and CEO of Virtual Person, “…site visitors have developed a ‘blindness’ to banner ads , but with the Chat Banner, Virtual Person has developed another layer of banner advertising- one that considers the end-user as a partner in dialogue and focuses on consumer engagement.” Sasson continues to explain that in his opinion “interactive banners that focus on customer engagement will produce better results than previous ads and will deliver better eCPM values.”

The Chat Banner allows companies to engage in direct sales conversations with potential visitors and receive customer feedback. Utilizing the already successful and popular sales solution from Virtual Person and the Chat Banner pulls from an extensive content database, which is continuously optimized, in order to answer customer inquiries about a brand, product or company.

The Chat Banner is embedded in banner ad spaces as a chat and includes:

•     A Virtual Sales Person
•     Customized Banner Design and Logo
•     Self -Learning system
•     Back Office with complete analytics
•     Researched and developed content database
•     Customized Sales Pitch
•     Access to archived chat sessions
•     Ability to adjust promotions in 1 easy step

About Virtual Person:

Virtual Person™ is an advanced intelligent chat service designed to increase sales, decrease operating costs, generate leads and optimize online customer service. Powered by the innovative InsightI™ algorithm engine the Virtual Person is able to mimic authentic human behavior and understand context. Virtual Person was founded in 2008 as division of TA-Vision (http://www.TA-Vision.com) , a leader in the development of Artificial Emotional Intelligence technology and has long-term partnerships with industry leaders, such as LivePerson. For more information visit, http://www.virtual-person.com.

Raz Hadari
Virtual Person
1-800-982-0810
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